"Factors Affecting the Decision-Relevance of Government-Sponsored Research" seeks to assess the factors that enhance the usefulness of social research for public decision-making. Usefulness is defined in terms of both intrinsic contribution and likelihood of use. The research strategy is to secure informed judgments from persons in key positions. A stratified sample of 250 respondents was selected from occupants of five positions in the mental health decision-making/research system. One hundred fifty were people who make decisions about mental health policy, programs, and services at the federal, state, and local levels. In addition, interviews were conducted with 50 researchers engaged in government-funded research in mental health and 50 members of ADAMHA committees reviewing social science research proposals for funding. Respondents' judgments were grounded in reality by asking them to read and rate abstracts of studies recently completed under the auspices of ADAMHA. Each respondent rated two of these fifty studies on usability and on twenty-nine descriptive characteristics. In addition, respondents described their needs for social research, their use of research information, and their criteria for appropriate and useful research studies. These data are being analyzed to determine which kinds of research contribute in what ways to decision-making processes in mental health. The data show the ways in which social scientific information is used in decision-making on policy, program, and practice and the role which social science research can play in public decision-making.